Sonic X: The Demon's Return
by Teridax1234
Summary: Only months after the final fight with Dark Oak, an even more powerful, yet ancient, evil is released from his prison, threatening to plunge an entire galaxy into darkness. Can Sonic and his friends, new and old, defeat the acursed demon from one world?
1. The Curse has returned

Chapter 1- The Curse has Returned

The Moon Cave, a place of wonders, legends, power and prayer… it was said that this shrine held many secrets. Even though it was true, no fool dared to venture and discover any of them, for the fear of losing themselves to the caverns depths. No one dared to remove anything from the cavern.

Until now.

A shadowy figure moved slowly and quietly up the small staircase that led to the caves entrance. He stood warily in front of the mouth of the shrine. Most days, he felt a sense of security and light when he saw this sacred place. Now all he felt was fear and anticipation. He strode into the cave, and felt the shadow of an ancient power fall upon him, chilling him to the very marrow in his bones. Eventually, he came across the Moon shrine itself—a small temple, with a large bell hanging under its roof. A sword lay embedded underneath the bell. This sword was known as Tsukuyomi, at least, that was the writing inscribed on its hilt when properly translated. No one dared to raise this blade from its hold, and now he knew why.

_No, it is impossible! It is a legend, a fairytale!_

He walked up the cold, short staircase that led him to stare straight at the sword. The shadowed form looked at the sword with apprehension and a foreboding sense of doom. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled.

The sword was free.

He stared at the blade. Nothing happened.

Then something did.

Eight pairs of crimson eyes were glaring at him. Panicking, he ran down the staircase, but tripped and fell to the ground. He stared up at the creature, eyes filled with fright. The creature was massive. Its body _was_ the shrine. Eight dragon like heads upon thrashing, snake like necks waved ominously. The eyes of the beast were blood red with evil. One of the heads, presumably the leader, came face to face with the man. When it spoke, its voice was deep, hollow, and like thunder, while its breath reeked of smoke.

"He who seeks power… he who hast broken my bonds… Utter a prayer of darkness, and unleash my true power. Vow unto me, and thou shall receive dark power beyond imagination."

The man was absolutely speechless. Had he unleashed the most powerful evil the world- nay, the galaxy has ever seen?

The dragon-serpent hybrid of a demon unleashed a loud and thunderous roar that echoed throughout the cave. The man ran out of the cave as fast as he could. The eight shadowed heads broke out of the mouth of the cave. One head shattered the monument that labeled the place as such. The lead head roared once more into the sky. A reddish black haze began to roll quickly in all directions, and the sky overhead darkened. Trees were uprooted, grasses and flowers withered away by the power of the terrible curse. The powerful shadow destroyed everything.

However, one thing escaped the damage, though temporarily.

For hundreds of thousands of years, a cherry blossom tree of immense size and strange power kept the lands beyond it protected from any demon that plagued this one land known as Nippon. Its roots spread throughout the land and kept careful guard of the land and the world, yet now the saplings had fallen to the curse, and the tree, Konohana, barely stalled the curse. It would not last long. A statue of a wolf lay in front of the tree, once a symbol of prosperity. But a hurtling bolder would see an end to that. The boulder almost collided with the statue, when a pink robed woman, or rather sprite, appeared at the last second to intercept it. The tree sprite was the living spirit of Konohana, whose power kept the world at peace. Her name was Sakuya.

"No…" she breathed, "How could this be? The demon has returned? It has been almost 500,000 years since it was finally sealed forever!" There was no time to waste pondering over the before. She turned to face the statue. Sakuya outlined a circle.

"Amaterasu," she called, "your power is needed once more. Shine your rays of light upon this withered world and see to it the demon is forever destroyed!" She threw the newly formed reflector into the sky, and came to a landing on the statues back The circle lighted red, with blue and orange flames emerging from the reflector. The wolf statue was now a vibrant, white wolf. Red markings appeared on its face, down its sides and tail. On it shoulders were feathery wisps of what seemed to be fur modeled like a flame, and red marking appeared on them to. The wisps formed on the back of the wolf's feet as well. Finally, tendrils of pure light emerged from it back. It howled and shook itself as if it was drying itself, but instead of water, flakes of light flew off of it.

Sakuya had done this before, long ago, but it was still a sight to behold. The wolf leaped of the base of the statue to the ground, and looked around.

"Amaterasu, origin of all that is good, I apologize to summon you once more, but the choice was not mine. If you would look up at the sky, you would see why."

Amaterasu did just that, staring up at the sunless sky. She growled once, signaling she was aware of what caused it.

"Amaterasu, there is no more time. I am close to falling. My spirit may endure, but my power won't. When that happens, the world outside of Nippon will fall to the curse of the dreaded demon." The wolf stared at her in disbelief. The world? How could she possibly handle that? As far as she knew, there were no saplings outside of these lands. Yes, she was a goddess, but even her power was limited. And the demon's curse was never that powerful. In the past, she had Waka by her side to assist her, but he had surely passed by now. She only knew of one other being that could help her. She howled into the sky. Sakuya wondered exactly what she was doing. A portal opened at her will. In a few short moments, a white and gold armored being walked out of the portal as it closed. The being was easily seven feet tall, with a golden armored chest and shoulders, and what appeared to be a golden mask. He held twin staffs. Sakuya gazed on in wonder. Who could he be? Amaterasu barked with warmth. It seemed she knew who this was. The being spoke.

"Amaterasu? It has been so long, sister!" Amaterasu nodded.

"Excuse me," said Sakuya with a hint of annoyance, "But who might you be?" The strange being turned around.

"Me? Amaterasu has never told you?" She shook her head. "Ah, okay. Seems to be keeping secrets. I am Takanuva."

"Takanuva? Well then what did you mean by 'sister'?"

"Term of endearment," he said quickly. He turned to Amaterasu. "You're summoning of me has not come without reason, I presume?" Amaterasu gazed skyward. Takanuva took a quick glance and knew. "Impossible… but he was sealed away! Some fool has set him free!" But who?

"Amaterasu…" Sakuya called weakly. Their attention was diverted. "I am fading… please… you must… prevail…" her form almost fell to the ground. Takanuva caught her before that happened.

"Unconscious… As long as the tree remains rooted, she shall not fade." He laid her resting form against the tree. Amaterasu licked her face with concern. "Amaterasu, I must depart." She shot him a hard stare and barked at him.

"I must do this alone. I will face the demon. I owe him for what he did." She shook her head and barked once thrice more. "Heroes? But they will never defeat that thing!" She barked again, giving him an explanation of sorts. "Wait… If this is true, then they are the only ones that can undo the curse. But they cannot use the brush, unless it is granted to them." Amaterasu grunted. "The golden armor can grant others control? But then how…" She gave Takanuva a 'wait and see' look. "Alright, if you say so. I will assist them. For now, try to see what you can do about this area." The white wolf nodded.

"Where did you say they were?"

Notes: This is a new story, and luckily, only one BIONICLE character, Takanuva. This story is labeled as a crossover between _Okami_ and _Sonic X_(Yes, I chose the anime- deal with it!) I have put Trials of a Legend on a hiatus, because I do not know where to go with the story after Ch 10- as in, the plot was not as thoroughly developed as this one's.

Okay, so no Sonic characters yet- but they will be in the next chapter, I assure you. Veterans of Okami know that the beginning portion is very similar to Okami's. They also know the demon's name, but I don't want to spoil it for the Sonic fans. And as for Takanuva's familiarity with Ammy, that will be explained at one point, but not until much later. This story takes place 500,000 years after Trials of a Legend(Yes, Sakuya has not aged physically at all-She is a wood sprite). The whereabouts of Mata Nui and Makuta will also be listed eventually. I hope you like this, because I spent months on this story's plot.

Revision-Tahu won't be here, I replaced him with Takanuva. I'm sorry I did that, but hopefully you guys won't mind. I did that because I felt Takanuva was better suited to being flashy and "half-baked", more so than Tahu.


	2. Meeting Iza

Chapter 2- Meeting Iza

Tails, a yellow, two tailed fox, sat down by a skylight in his home, reading a book that was given to him by a friend. In the days after the Metarex invasion, life had been mostly uneventful. True, there had been Eggman's schemes to put a stop to, but it only lasted for a month. Then he disappeared for some reason. He supposed he should be thankful for this time without turmoil, but he had not been enjoying it very much.

_Cosmo…_

Still, he was filled with regret. He knew he had to fire the cannon, but why couldn't saving the galaxy come without a cost? He set down his book and stretched. _I guess I should just go on a walk…_ He promptly left and began strolling around the plains outside. The day was picture perfect. The sun's rays cast just enough warmth, there was also a slight wind that made the grass sway calmly. There was not even a single cloud in the sky. He walked throughout the field, lost in thought. However, his daydreaming was diverted quite quickly.

"Hey! Watch it!" Tails looked around him, but it seemed the voice had no source. "Down here!" He looked down and, much to his surprise, there was a tiny creature who was bouncing in front of him. Tails kneeled to see the person more carefully. It seemed to be an inch sized human, who was wearing some sort of a bug helmet. He was glowing a certain shade of blue.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" The inch sized person leapt onto Tails' shoulder.

"Most people don't. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Miles Prower, but my friends just call me Tails."

"Tails, eh," he said, "Unique name. I'm Iza."

"It's good to meet you," said Tails with his usual politeness. "Do you live near here?" Iza began bouncing on top of his head, to get a good look at his surroundings.

"Come to think of it… no, I don't. I never thought hitching a ride on that blue thing would take me so far from home."

_Blue thing..?_

"You mean Sonic?" Iza leapt back on his shoulder.

"Sonic is his name?" Tails nodded in response. "How appropriate. Do you know where he is? I'd like to thank him in full stranding me out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Hey, you were the one who hitched a ride on him," laughed Tails.

"True, but he didn't have to go so fast!"

"Well, that's Sonic for ya. Life always has to be at Mach 5 for him." Iza had a grim expression.

_That kind of attitude will get him or someone else hurt._ Thankfully, Tails could not see Iza's discomfort.

"Let's ask around. Maybe we can see if he'll give you a ride back home," he said.

"You've got one problem- where are we gonna find someone," Iza asked, "And secondly- who else knows about him?"

"He's pretty famous around here," Tails said, now extremely curious to knowjust where Iza came from. "Where are you from, anyway?"

"It's a village you've probably never heard of," he replied, "I hail from Ponc'tan, which is hundreds of miles from here."

"That's no problem," said Tails proudly, "Sonic'll have you there in five minutes!"

"If he doesn't lose me in the oceans. Come on, let's go find Sonic so I can rough 'em up a little."

It took time, but eventually they reached… well, for Iza, another house, once again, in the middle of nowhere. This was Sonic's house, though he was rarely here. But Tails thought it was worth checking. He was about to knock the door, but then

"GOT YA!" Iza almost had a heart attack. Someone with pink fur grappled onto Tails, apparently thinking he was that Sonic character. Tails was very surprised as well

"AHGG!" Suddenly, the newcomer seemed to get a knowing glare.

"Oh, Tails! I'm sorry!" The voice was feminine. She let go of Tails.

"That's alright, Amy." Iza began to get annoyed. "I would ask you where Sonic was, but I guess you're also searching for him"

"I looked everywhere for him! So I decided to wait here until he showed up." Tails raised a brow.

"How long _were_ you here?"

"An hour, maybe."

"Okay, one of you, TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" Iza began to cast a red glow, and was bouncing madly up and down on Tails' head.

"Is that a bug," asked Amy, pointing right at the bouncing critter. Tails chuckled.

"I thought that at first too. But no, he isn't." Iza leapt from Tails' head right onto Amy's palm. Amy peered at the little person, discovering he was indeed a person, not a talking bug.

"What's your name? I'm Amy Rose."

"The name's Iza. "

"Do you live far from here, Iza?"

"That's why I'm looking for your friend. You see, I hitched a ride on him from my village, to get out and see the world. What I did not expect was to find myself across an ocean." Iza leapt back on to Tails' head, considering him to be more comfortable.

"No worries! Sonic will have you there faster than you can say his name!"

"Well then, if we are all searching for him, I guess we'll search together."

"All right," said Tails, "let's go!"

But then, it began to grow dark.

"Huh," Amy said, completely perplexed by the sudden change, "But it was nowhere _near_ nighttime! Is this another one of Eggman's schemes?"

"I don't think so," Tails replied, staring up at the pitch-black, starless sky. Iza looked eastward, and saw something most… terrifying.

_No, it couldn't be!_ "Guys, I think we have bigger problems!" Tails turned in the direction he was facing, and saw a reddish-black cloud roll over the plains, the grasses withering away as it did so. It was killing everything. "I don't think whoever you were talking about is capable of _that_."

_No, he doesn't want to destroy the world,_ thought Tails, _he wants to conquer it._

_Then who did this? _There was not much time to worry about that though. They had to escape before they fell victim as well. But then, it seemed fortune struck. In the space of a nanosecond, they were flying across the plains faster than sound itself. Iza barely held on to Tails. They were being carried by a blue… hedgehog!

_It looks like Sonic pulled through…_

It did not take long before they reached the summit of a high plateau. Sonic let go of both Amy and Tails. However, it seemed Amy would not let go so easily. She hugged Sonic fiercely.

"Oh Sonic! Thanks for saving us, I was so scared! It was coming right at us, and-"Sonic hugged back to comfort her.

"It's all right, Amy. You're safe now." Iza, unfortunately, could not say the same for the world below. Tails looked down at the darkened world, and Iza did so from his perch on Tails' head. Everything looked so… dead. And he knew what caused it, but he did not want to believe it. Tails turned back to Sonic, who broke his hug with Amy.

"Did you manage to get-"

"Over here!" A small rabbit carrying a blue… thing were running towards them. Iza was getting confused.

_What in the Gods' name is with all of these bipedal animals?_

The duo reached them. Both had frightened looks on their faces.

"What do we do? The evil cloud, it got mom to!"

"Don't worry Cream, we'll save her."

"And just how will you do that?" A red furred echidna was walking over to them. He had the same basic physique as the rest of them. "As far as I can tell, no one has an answer to just what _that_ was."

"Hey," Sonic retorted, "We've always found a way, haven't we?"

"While I can't disagree with you, this time it's different," he said firmly, "The Chaos Emeralds lost their glow just before the shadow hit." Sonic was speechless. It _drained_ the Emeralds of their power? Iza himself began to lose patience. He started bouncing up and down Tails' head to make his presence known. Knuckles saw the strange point of light out of the corner of his eye. Sonic saw it to.

"Tails, stay _still_," he whispered. Iza jumped on top of Sonic's head.

"First of all, I am not a bug. I'm Iza, and I'm an artist."

"It talks?" Knuckles said that as if it were a surprise to him.

"Look at you," he shot back, "I have never seen talking animals." He jumped back on Tails' head. "Besides, out of all of you, I think Tails' is the most comfy." Tails had not the slightest idea if that was a compliment or not. The group all shot him strange looks. He shrugged innocently. "And if everyone would listen, I would tell you what that was." Knuckles grew suspicious of the little person.

"Do you work for Eggman," he growled. Iza started to glow a bright red, signaling he was getting irritated.

"I don't even know who he is, let alone this area. It was because of Sonic I ended up here." Sonic had a confused look on his face.

"Wait, what?" Iza smirked, though no one could see it.

"Story for another day." But his tone turned serious again. "Once, a very long time ago, a strange and powerful evil spread throughout the land. It consumed everything in its path. Not even the gods could stop it." The group sat down to listen to his tale. "It was the curse of demons."

"How do we know you're telling the truth," Knuckles asked with heavy suspicion.

"Because he is." They all turned in the direction of the voice. This time it was a black hedgehog of the same type as Sonic. He had red highlights in his upper fur, and has carrying a pot with a growing plant. Iza did not recognize him, but it seemed everyone else did.

"Shadow!"

Author's notes: Yes, Iza descended from Issun, Amaterasu's partner in _Okami_. In my storyline, _Okami _took place just a few months before _T.o.a.L_ . Besides, it has been 500,000 years since _Okami_. And yes, Sakuya did say 600,000 years. That was a typo on my part, it's supposed to be 500,000. I'll re-upload the chapter with the correct number. So yeah, there are finally Sonic characters in this one. I hope I got the personalities down well, because God knows that I probably did not. Hope you like this one.


	3. Hope Dawns

Chapter 3- Hope dawns

"Shadow!" The six of them picked themselves up and ran to greet him. Well, all but one gave him a pleasant greeting. Iza, sitting atop Tails', shot the newcomer a wary stare. How does he know about curses? Fortunately, someone else voiced the question.

"How do you know about any of this," Knuckles said in a low, menacing tone. Shadow simply gave him a mocking smile.

"It's been four months, Knuckles. I've… had time." Now it was Iza's turn. He began to cast his blue glow a bit brighter.

"How do we know if we can trust you? From what I can gather, there _has_ been a bit of tension between you and them." Shadow chuckled.

"I see Tails' carries a bug with him now. I guess you're out of friends." Iza began to glow red. _Very _bright red. He drew his sword. He doubted he could do much, but it was worth the effort to make a threat.

"Give me one good reason why I should not take my sword, _Karu_, and drill into your thick skull with it! And need I remind you, you're reason had better be damn good." He walked past them, brushing each one aside.

"What's with him," asked Tails, cocking an eyebrow. Amy crossed her arms.

"He always had an attitude," she said curtly. Shadow stared down at the rotted Earth with some contempt. He set down the plant he was carrying, which Tails immediately recognized. Shadow folded his arms.

"The cause of this curse is by the power of a demon, who was sealed away long before our race even _evolved_." He turned to them.

"I speak of _Orochi_, the legendary eight headed dragon-serpent!"

"O-o-Orochi…" Iza said that name with barely contained fear. A chilling wind blew through the plateau. Shadow shot him a dark glare.

"You fool! Say that name again, and you'll be dead. That alone can curse the weak." Iza calmed himself, but still wanted to rend him like a fish. Shadow walked to stand face-to-face with Sonic. He darted his eyes left and right, wary of the others.

"Do you remember the Moon Cave, Sonic?" He asked this as if it were a general question.

"Yeah, course I have. That place is sacred." He paused. "Apparently."

"I know that place too," Tails exclaimed, "I used to visit there all the time."

"We all did," Knuckles replied, "Even I would when I had a spare moment. But that does not prove much." Shadow took a few steps back to address them all.

"Each time you entered that place… you were under the shroud of pure evil. The Moon Cave is the place where Orochi was sealed away! It's his_ lair_." Everyone but Iza gasped. He could understand why it came as a surprise to them. But him? He was a Poncle. They were drilled in legends and myths. Shadow turned on his heel to stare up at the now sunless sky.

"A very long time ago, a warrior named Nagi sealed away the evil demon. Its jail was held steadfast by his sword, dubbed Tsukuyomi."

"You mean the same sword embedded in that shrine," asked Amy.

"The very same. As long as the sword stays there, that creature would be forever sealed." He turned around, giving them an angered and determined glare.

"One of you went off and removed that sword. So in case you don't know, I'm here to kill you." Sonic readied himself.

"Chill out! None of us removed that sword!" Shadow glared at him with rage. He punched Sonic squarely in the chest, sending him flying. Running at top speed after him, he grabbed Sonic by the throat and held him in the air.

_Being as fast as him is helpful, _Shadow thought callously. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten there were other people here as well. Amy had seen enough. She took her hammer and swung it at his side. Shadow began to turn, but it was far too late. The hammer hit him in the stomach, causing him to slide in the other direction, and drop Sonic. He massaged his throat. Knuckles grabbed Shadow by the arms and restrained him.

"Let… me… go!" Shadow struggled against Knuckles grip, but to no avail.

"So you can do what? Kill us? You heard him. We did _not_ remove the sword." Amy advanced to Shadow, staring at him straight in the eyes and making little effort to contain her temper.

"Let's get one thing straight: you touch Sonic one more time, and I won't hesitate to knock you till your bones are shattered." Sonic looked on with shock. She really _did_ look like she was going to do that. Even Shadow knew. The fiery look in her eyes said she was not bluffing. Shadow gave her a look that would have chilled snow. Sonic walked up to stand next to her, adding to the reprimand.

"You can't do this alone. How did we defeat Dark Oak? We stood side-by-side. We beat him together." Iza bounced his way to Sonic's head.

"You may think you're powerful. You believe you have what it takes to defeat anyone. You believe killing people for a cause is fine." Iza's tone darkened. "You're wrong. Alone, you're weak. Taking away innocent lives, no matter what the cause, just reinforces that fact." He leapt on top of each person's head, stopping at Shadow himself. "But together, you're strong. You will never defeat Orochi alone. We have to stand together." Shadow visibly calmed down, and Knuckles let go of him. Shadow growled at him.

"Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms again.

"I see your ancestors have taught you well, Iza." Everyone turned in the direction of the soft, feminine voice. Standing (or rather hovering) there was a tall woman, with long, black hair that was parted to the sides at the front of her face. She wore a pink robe and a purple wrap. Her hair on the top of her head was held by a pair of leaves. Let's add she was beautiful. The males in the group (except Shadow) could not stop staring. Amy shot Sonic an irritated look. Not wanting to incur her wrath, he abruptly stopped looking and started to scratch the back of his head and smile innocently. Iza jumped off his perch to stand in front of the newcomer.

"You're… you're Sakuya, the tree spirit, right? You were mentioned in a story passed down in my family." Iza smirked. "I guess their descriptions of you are underwhelming." Sakuya sighed, but smiled.

_I guess Issun made that a point._ Ignoring him, she said, "The world has fallen under the influence of an ancient and powerful demon. I ask of you to rejuvenate and revitalize the land." Shadow gave her the same cold glare he gave everyone.

"And how will we do that?" Sakuya lifted her arms, and began to gather light in to the space between her palms.

"That plant you carry… I sense an innate sentience within. I will fully make it bloom, so it is once again the person it used to be, along with a power known as bloom. Although, granted I've never seen anything like it before." Tails listened to her words, and thought it was miracle of a god.

_Can she really do that?_ The ball of light flew from her hands right to the potted plant. It enveloped the plant, glowing blindingly. When the glow subsided, Tails looked absolutely overjoyed. She was sitting right there. _Cosmo_ was sitting there! He wasted no time to run and hug her. Cosmo met his hug with confusion, but comfort.

"Tails? But I thought… I mean…"

"It's okay Cosmo," he said. He broke the hug and brought her to her feet. "Right now, all that matters is that you're back." The rest of the gang, sans Shadow and Iza, ran to the duo with barely contained excitement. Shadow ignored them, while Iza looked on with some content. But he turned his attention back to Sakuya.

"You said you gave her the power of bloom. Isn't that-"

"Well, not exactly. I gave her the power to revive the broken saplings."

"You mean there are Guardian saplings outside of Nippon and Kamui?"

"Yes. It is your duty to revive them. I won't be rude and interrupt their reunion, so Iza, I ask of you, may you inform them?"

"I'll get right on that, babe." Sakuya sighed.

"It seems you've inherited Issun's attitude towards women as well." She disappeared. He was about to tell them, but it seemed someone else would handle that.

"_If you're done_, "announced Shadow. Everyone turned their eyes toward him, but Tails shot him an annoyed look. Iza, wanting to prevent another fight, stepped between them. He bounced up to Cosmo and started jumping to match her height.

"You… I believe your name is Cosmo, right?" She nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Good. That Wood sprite there who revived you just a few minutes ago handed you a special power." He began to address the group as whole. "Have any you seen Cherry blossom trees that have remained bloomed all year?

"Yes," Cream said, "They're really pretty. There was one nearby our house."

"Good. Those are Guardian saplings. They are there to ensure the safety and beauty of the natural world. But the curse has caused them to wither away. Cosmo here has been granted a special power that can revive these saplings. If we do, the curse will be dispelled and we'll have a better chance against the demons."

"Alright then," Sonic said with enthusiasm, "Let's do this!" Shadow grew annoyed.

"Will you cut that out," he said. Sonic sighed and shrugged.

"Geez, Shadow, cool it." Iza smiled.

_This is gonna be one heckuva adventure._

Author's notes- Well, there you have it. I guess that's their whole crew. I think I did Shadow's character well. But I like to write about Tails a little better. And yeah, I just had to add the gawking part, I just could not resist. Please remember to read and review, because it improves my abilities as a writer. Anyway, I'm bringing this to you a little early, because I will be traveling. I'll get you guys another chapter on the first full week of July. Enjoy!

And yes, I overused the word "shot". Sue me :p.

P.S. Karu means light in Japanese.


	4. Imp Strike

Chapter 4- Imp Strike

It did not take long before the group reached the bottom of the plateau. Once they did, they discovered to their surprise that there were certain areas that the curse had not tainted. Cream hoped silently that her mother had been spared from its corruption. Iza looked around from his perch on Tails' head, but with little success. The dark fog was thick; Iza would not be able to spot anything, and unfortunately this included the Guardian Sapling.

"I could dash around and see if I can find it," volunteered Sonic.

"Do you want to be sent to an early grave," Shadow chastised. Sonic ignored his attitude, but understood the warning.

Tails analyzed the now-barren forest area with shock. At one time, this used to be home to many types of flora and fauna. But now, even the uncorrupted areas could not enjoy life. How would they stop it? Where could the Guardian Sapling be, if it was still rooted? Cosmo, since she had a strong connection to plant life, began to feel very weak. It seemed the curse was draining her. Or was it because she could sense the suffering of the life here?

_Maybe it's both_, she thought, _How powerful _is _this thing?_ Knuckles, of course, had a bit of trouble believing this to be the work of a demon. Demons are things of myths and legends, not creatures of reality. Yet, something _had_ to be causing this evil spread. It had been sometime before they arrived to view something most… disturbing.

It was Cream's house, covered in shadow.

Cream covered her mouth to prevent her sobs from being heard. Sonic was about to run in and help her mother, but Knuckles held him back.

"Wait! That's far too risky. The best way to help out is to find the Guardian Sapling and revive it." Sonic hated it when he was right, especially now. He turned to Shadow to voice his question.

"Is she..." Iza could finish it for him.

"Dead? No, but she has been turned to stone. Until we revitalize the Guardian Sapling, all living creatures shall remain pure, solid rock." Sonic turned to Tails because Iza was sitting on his head.

"Even us?"

"If you enter the cursed zone."

"Oh okay. So let's say the Guardian Sapling is in the cursed zone. How do we get close enough to heal it?" The one who asked this was Shadow, and he said that in a very cynical tone. But it was a heck of a question. Fortunately, someone else gave out the encouraging response.

"No worries," said Tails, "We'll find a way."

"You had better be right about that, fox boy." Tails frowned. Iza cast his red glow as he usually did.

"That had better not be a threat, idiot." Shadow shrugged. Sonic sighed. It seemed these two would never stop arguing.

Orochi grimaced. Time was short. He had to return to full power. But how would he do that without the one who wants power uttering the prayer? If he did not, it would be more difficult to destroy the last remains of the Celestial Plain. He was not one to underestimate his foes, especially Amaterasu, who had defeated him thrice before.

_I failed in my duty 500,000 years ago._ Orochi roared once more, calling forth demons to stand against those who would interfere in his task.

_But this time…_ Six clouds as dark as night appeared. They all rose quickly and shot off in different directions.

_I will succeed in my destiny._

**Failure is not an option. **

Iza could sense something was stirring. He looked all around, trying to see if he could spot the disturbance.

"Is there something wrong," Tails asked, concerned.

"I… can sense something… what is it?"

"If you can sense, then I can hear." As soon as Shadow mentioned it, everyone heard it. They all could hear strange music being played.

"It sounds… demonic," Amy said.

"It's scary," mumbled Cream. Cheese squeaked "chao" in agreement.

"Where could it be coming from," Knuckles wondered.

"There's a better question," Sonic breathed, "Who-"

"Is making it," Shadow finished for him. "We take this slowly for once." He turned to Sonic. "Think you can handle that?" Sonic smirked at him in reply.

"Of course I can. As a matter of fact, I was gonna ask _you_ that question." Shadow ignored his jibe.

"Let's go." He began to walk east, but then, of course, iza stopped him.

"How can you be sure it's that way?"

"Is a little insect comparing his hearing to mine?"

"How about we go search for the music's source, 'kay," Tails said quickly. Shadow grumbled something under his breath, but they had little time to waste dealing with him. They began to walk east like Shadow had, and it seemed he was correct. The music was growing louder, but so did the curse. It became more… concentrated. Cosmo began to fall over, her energies being drained from her. Tails quickly caught her before she hit the ground.

"Are you all right," he asked, voice heavy with worry and concern.

"It's…" she said weakly, "this curse. I'm losing… strength. Plants cannot survive in this…" Tails put an arm around her to help her walk. This was bad. For one, if she was losing power, could they still revive the Guardian Sapling if they found it? Worse yet…. what if she succumbed to the darkness? Tails quickly rid himself of that thought.

_She won't suffer again, not while I'm still alive._

Shadow was leading the group, contemplating on whether they could defeat Orochi. He knew they could not fail, for if they did, the cost would be enormous, worse than if the Metarex had succeeded. Whole worlds would be destroyed in seconds. Too many lives would be lost, species would go extinct, and demons would plague the galaxy at-large.

_Even if they fail, I know that I can't._ But what he felt was that one of them released had to have released the dark demon. And once he found out, all bets are off. That person would die horribly, and he did not care who objected. Not even the gods themselves could still his wrath. But there was a bigger question… does that steely resolve stand up to Orochi? Only time would tell.

The music grew louder. The group found the music's source. Three green creatures were playing a song with their flutes. The green beasts looked like a monkey or an ape.

_What in the world are those things?_ Sonic began to take a step closer, but the green creatures heard it. They turned to him, revealing their faces were covered by a sort of white cloth with a red symbol painted on it. They shrieked at him, becoming very aggressive.

"Now you've done it, moron," Shadow mumbled. He prepared himself, and Sonic took out his ring. Amy's Piko-piko mallet appeared in her hand. Knuckles braced his fists, while Tails and Cream stood back, knowing they could not do much. The beasts pounced.

"Scatter," Sonic yelled, and they all jumped in different directions. The lesser demons were outnumbered, but not out powered. They played a note with their flutes, causing a powerful gust of air to knock their opponents back. Sonic tried to spin dash into one of them, but it did not succeed. The flute in its hands gave out another burst of air, stopping the spin, and the demon used his flute and whacked him to the side. Shadow was having little luck as well. His spin dashes were constantly evaded, and the "Imp", as he called it, was better at martial arts than he was. And as Knuckles and Amy discovered to their dismay, brute force was not effective as well.

"There has to be a way to get them," Sonic called as he blocked some of the Imp's attacks. But one caught him off guard and batted him to the ground. The Imp hovered over him, ready for the kill. It was a bit too late to do anything about it. But the Imp was slammed aside by a large hammer. Sonic could catch Amy's wink as she passed to beat the Imp senseless for almost killing him. It was then Shadow came to a realization he should have figured out before: surprise was the key in this fight. As soon as they were caught off guard, the Imps were completely defenseless. Shadow dashed behind the Imp and spun onto him, knocking it into the Imp Knuckles was brawling with. Amy sent hers flying into the group. They all were dazed, unable to counter. Sonic spin dashed into the pile, knocking them around like bowling pins. Once they hit the ground, they burst into flowers, signifying the corrupted souls had been purified. But of course, Shadow would not give them a moment's rest.

"Let's get moving." Iza rolled his eyes. Sonic shrugged and followed. Tails continued to carry Cosmo, while the rest fell behind him. They were walking for some time before Shadow stopped at a large, but wilting tree.

"This is it," he whispered, "I can sense it." Cosmo began to gain some of her energy back. Tails let go of her, but made sure she was steady. She walked past Shadow and stood in front of the tree, her back facing the group.

"Concentrate," said Shadow. Cosmo touched the tree, and closed her eyes. She could feel the Guardian Sapling losing all of its power. But she could fix that now. She pooled the power Sakuya had granted her into the tree. The tree began to grow back its light pink petals. Power raced through the newly revived tree, and light began to spring forth from the base of its trunk, dispelling the reddish black haze that covered the forest. Color and life returned to the grasses as it spread, flowers began to bloom, and trees sprung forth from the revitalized earth. The darkened sky began to part as sunlight burned through. The group watched on in wonder. Cosmo felt the life that had returned to the cursed zone, and it gave her energy. Pink cherry blossom petals were flying around. Sonic thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Wow…," Amy said, awestruck. "It's beautiful…" Cream looked around, joyful.

"We can pick flowers again, right Cheese?" He said "chao" in agreement. Shadow crossed his arms, but he was still pleased with the results. Tails smiled, enjoying the warmth the sun gave.

_Feels like home_, Iza thought. They did it. They have revived their first Guardian Sapling.

But it was just the start…

Author's notes- Whooo! I have a chapter for y'all. So, there is much progression here. They fought some green imps, and won, and revived the Guardian sapling. But as to why they did not just run to the Guardian Sapling in the end is: I don't know! It's a plot hole I guess. Still, I hope you guys though it was good.

When school starts, these updates will be a lot less frequent. So expect an update once every other week in late August. Just a heads up. Until then, I will post as many as possible.


	5. Nippon's Devastation

Chapter 5- Nippon's Devastation

The sight was the most beautiful thing Sakuya had ever seen. All around, the life had returned to another part of the world. And thanks to the quick actions of the Great Goddess, she had returned to her full power and then some. She desired to appear to the newly christened heroes, but then noticed-

_My clothes. Oops. _She was wearing the same outfit that she had when her tree was revived fully 500,000 years ago. Not wanting to cause Iza's heart to skip about a thousand beats (and the others for that matter) she went to go… well, change. _Amaterasu would never let me live that down. Speaking of whom, I wonder where she went? Did she go looking for a new Celestial Envoy?_ But the question was answered when she found the she-wolf staring sadly at the ruins of a tiny but beautiful hamlet- Kamiki Village. Sakuya looked on sadly as well. So many years had passed since that fateful day. The once prosperous mortals that had dwelled on these bountiful lands had died out years ago, albeit unnaturally.

Even though Amaterasu was not expecting Susano or Kushi to be around after so long, but she also was not expecting to find _absolutely no humans whatsoever. _The sun goddess howled mournfully into the night sky. She was sad at the time she had taken so much for granted… but was angry at the fact that she could not save them. She had the chance… but she waited too long. The Toa of Light, Takanuva had warned her…

…But she stubbornly refused to listen. Now it was her mission to be a true caretaker and protector to the creatures of this new world- she would call them "Mobians" meaning "saviors". Why had she named them that, the white wolf wondered. Maybe it was because she felt she was no longer the Goddess she should have been. Perhaps she was no longer the savior- rather the mortal people of this new and even stranger world. She rose from the pathway that led into the ruined village and turned around, heading towards the likely ruined Sei-An City.

Shadow, the ultimate life-form, had seen many things that should be a cause for celebration. In his four month long absence, he knew he should have. And he did, but out of pride, always refused to show any form of emotion besides raw anger.

Yet, for the first time in a very, very long while, he smiled. It was not one of those callous smirks. It was sincere. Luckily no one had noticed.

Tails had returned to Cosmo's side. No surprise there, of course he was being clingy. And he silently thanked any deity that Iza decided to remain on Amy's head (even though she complained a bit). Cosmo smiled warmly at him, overjoyed as well to see him again. She was about to say something, but then…

"Where to next," Sonic asked. Cream came up with an answer immediately.

"I need to see my mom. I'm worried that… what if she's still a statue…" Genuine enough.

"Don't worry," said Iza, putting her fears to rest, "She'll be fine. The curse has been lifted." She smiled at him.

"Thank you. I'm sure of it too!"

"Yeah, and when we get there, we should take a bit of a rest," said Sonic, "I'm sure we'll need it."

"Is relaxing all you can think about," snapped Shadow.

"Is being a huge jack-," Iza began, but Amy quickly grabbed him and shut him up. Once she let go, Iza was fuming. "Don't ever do that again." She smirked at him.

"Try not to tick him off then," she shot back.

"Anyway, I'm sure Shadow could explain our situation better to us when we're less pressured," Sonic interjected. Shadow sighed inwardly. He hoped he could avoid that.

"All right," he mumbled, "let's get out of here." He started running back, leaving the rest of them behind. Iza looked at Sonic as if to ask "what's with him?" He could only shrug.

Amaterasu reached the remains. By the looks of things, the people here had suffered long ago. She could only fume at the kind of power Orochi had gained from this.

_That's how he gets his strength, _she thought, _he destroys things and feeds off the suffering of the living. And he grows stronger by the minute._ But without the serpent crystal, she was all but powerless to invade the Moon Cave. She could only imagine… as his demons cause pain, he gains more power. But as long as the one who released him did not utter the prayer of darkness, she still had time. But then there was Takanuva… what does he have in store?

_Regardless, I need the seven Chaos Emeralds. If I do not retrieve them before Orochi, he will destroy them, and all hope will fade. The galaxy will have fallen under Orochi's control, and _it _would have won. _After all, only the Gods could utilize them to their true extent. And no, that did not mean going "super" like the creatures of this world do. That was child's play compared to what she could do with them. But as long as the person who possesses them is good of heart and will protect them at any cost, Amaterasu was content with letting that person keep them. She began to dash toward Northern Ryoshima Coast, and equipped herself with the Water Tablet. Small lily pads the size of her paw appeared as the she-wolf ran across the sea to a strange whirlpool. The Goddess of the sun braced herself for what may be down below. The whirlpool brought her down to world beneath the seas.

The Dragon Palace, a place as beautiful as the oceans it lay under. On the outside it was constructed of coral, but on the inside laid a place with quarters for its many denizens, the Dragonians. She expected to see the palace devastated like Kamiki Village and Sei-An City, but what Amaterasu witnessed was far from the unpleasant thought. The place was not obliterated… rather it looked deserted. The place was untouched, but plenty of the Dragonian's possessions were missing. Does that mean..?

**Ah, so these were the puny fools I had missed…** The deep, evil voice spoke into her mind. The white wolf whirled to see a specter of the Fire head of the Grand Master of demons Orochi, only it was formed from reddish-black darkness. The specter looked this way and that, wondering at the kind of power he could have gained if he found and slaughtered the Dragonians. The specter of shadows turned his attention to Amaterasu. **You know you must not prevail. I must succeed in my duty, if the darkness is to truly take hold of the universe.**

_You will never win, Orochi. I don't care how many times I have to kill you; I'll keep on doing it if it means sparing the galaxy and universe from the shadows._

**You cannot avoid fate for long, wild goddess of the heavens. If I am unable to defeat you, I know the Dark God surely will!** The demon paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in, but the Sun Goddess did not seem fazed. Amaterasu lost her fear of the Dark God long ago.

**Alas, the battle shall not be between you and me, but by the denizens of the world… what had you called them… ah, yes. Mobians, correct?** The Sun Goddess had a shocked look in her eye. The serpent could read her thoughts? Now Orochi had her. **I suppose I had best be searching for the Chaos Emeralds, then. You're quite intuitive, Amaterasu. But before I depart, I leave with a vision of one of the supposed chosen ones of destiny, as written by the stars…** Amaterasu saw a blue hedgehog racing a across a grassy field. The specter disappeared. So, specifically, he was one of the chosen ones..? The Goddess made her way out of the deserted palace, in search of the chosen one.

Authors Notes- So someone more powerful than Orochi lies ahead, eh? And it seems our Ammy knows that person. But our main heroes don't know, so I would call that- DRAMATIC IRONY. Deal with it. But he will be revealed, but trust me, you will be surprised at who it is, and be eternally pissed at me for making it him. Anyway, this chapter is significantly shorter than the others, but I did want to cut back to Amaterasu and the state of Nippon. But I do hope y'all like it.


	6. A Mysterious Newcomer

Chapter 6- A Mysterious Newcomer

The group had reached Cream's house. The sun shone brightly in the afternoon, as if masking that the disaster had ever occurred. The viewing of such evil certainly took its toll on the heroes. The little rabbit prayed that her mother was indeed safe as Iza claimed. Cream froze, slightly afraid at what she might find. Her Chao, Cheese, picked up on this and gripped her in a hug, while Iza jumped off of Amy's head and on to hers.

"Worry not," he comforted, "You'll never know by standing here." She listened intently, swallowed her fear and slowly opened the door. The entire group, except Shadow and Iza, all had a mix of suspenseful and hopeful expressions.

"Cream," a voice called, "is that you?" An ecstatic Cream ran (at a speed that caused Iza to fall off) through the doorway and gripped an older rabbit in tight hug. The rabbit, her mother, was slightly surprised, but returned the embrace. "What's wrong, sweetie? You're acting as if I had gone missing or I was in trouble." Iza got out of his daze, and muttered a curse under his breath. He was about to say something, but Sonic was faster.

"Well, to be honest, Ms. Vanilla, you kinda were," he said sadly. Vanilla was unable to comprehend. Nothing had gone wrong; she had just been sitting here.

"I don't understand. What happened?" Iza got on top of Sonic's head.

"Yeah, I think I can explain that," he began, "I'm Iza."

"Vanilla," she replied with a smile. "Do tell."

The group was seated on the couches in the house. By the time everything had settled down, nighttime had fallen, and it seemed that the stars and moon shone brightly once again. There were only two people missing: Tails and Cosmo (A/n Surprise, surprise). They were sipping at their tea silently, except for Shadow, who felt like he did not require it, and Iza, who was to small as it is.

"The ultimate life form has no need of such things," he had said, which naturally resulted in Iza gaining a bright red glow, steaming, followed by string of insults which would make Shadow's insults against Sonic look like innocent playground terms. Thankfully, they were all to himself. As of now, they all sat, waiting for either Iza or Shadow to begin the explanation.

"Ms. Vanilla," Iza began, gaining her and everyone else's attention, "You were turned to stone." Vanilla seemed shocked. "The reason behind that was a strange curse, that caused all floras to die, and fauna turned to stone."

"I thought curses were things of legends," she said. Iza bowed his head, indicating that some legends can be proven true.

"Unfortunately, no," Shadow started, "They are not. I know bug boy and Faker would agree with me."

"As much as I would like to disagree with Mr. Jerk," Iza grumbled, "He's right. We saw it with our own eyes." The rest of the people present nodded their heads in unison. Shadow saw this as good lead-in to the Legend of Nagi and Orochi.

"You see," he said, addressing everyone, "The cause of this is by the like of an all-powerful demon named Orochi." The rest listened intently, except Iza, who knew what was coming. "Half an eon ago," began the black and red hedgehog, "A village known as Kamiki lay in a grove of cherry blossoms. It was a beautiful, but small hamlet." He paused for a moment, allowing the image to sink into their minds. "But the village was not without its dark secret. To satisfy the appetite of Orochi, a massive and powerful creature who resided within his cave stronghold, every year a maidenly sacrifice was offered to Orochi on the day of their great festival." The listeners looked a bit shocked. "On the night of each festival, a white wolf appeared. The villagers assumed it to be a familiar of the dreaded demon, and it made it routine to patrol the village in the dead of night. A warrior named Nagi attempted many times to challenge the fearsome Shiranui, but was thwarted by the wolf's swift movements." Iza grew bored of this, but had suddenly remembered something important. He jumped off the center table and out the door. Shadow ignored the interruption. "On the night of the 100th sacrifice, a white plumed arrow struck the home of Nami, whom Nagi harbored a secret love for. He became enraged by Orochi's choice of sacrifice, and went to the Moon Cave in place of her."

"How romantic," Amy sighed. Again, Shadow ignored her.

"As Nagi entered the cave, a massive, eight headed serpentine creature loomed out of the chilling darkness. Lo and behold, it was none other than Orochi. The serpent braced his fangs, and Nagi leapt at him with ferocity. He attempted to strike at Orochi, but his hide was stronger than steel, leaving no mark. Exhausted, Nagi knew was facing Death itself. Orochi closed in, but Shiranui leapt in front of him. The demon master stopped his attack short. Shiranui leapt at Orochi, but his hide was now protected by a mystical barrier. Shiranui, brilliant coat dyed crimson in the face of Orochi's fangs, summoned gusts of wind to counter his powerful flames. Not willing to give up, it howled into the night sky, causing the black clouds to part and reveal the light of the moon. A fully recuperated Nagi lifted his sword in the air, causing it to be bathed in golden light. Gaining the power of the heavens, he sliced at Orochi, the heads of the beast separating from their owner. Once the creature was fully decapitated, he plunged his sword into its back, sealing away the demon's evil spirit. Shiranui, however, was succumbing to Orochi's poison. Nagi carried the wolf back to the village, but it had passed. In honor of Shiranui's brave efforts, a statue was erected in front of their sacred tree." He stopped, relaxing his shoulders. Everyone shared worried and shocked expressions.

Tails and Cosmo were lying down on a hill, staring up at the starry sky.

_So beautiful_, Tails thought, _just like she is._ He sat up, and Cosmo followed.

"Is there something wrong," she questioned. He smiled at her.

"No, it's just that I.."

"I know," she whispered, letting a tear fall. "I missed you too." She embraced him, and he returned it. When they broke, he asked.

"C-Cosmo," he stuttered, "What is it like to be…"

"Dead," she finished, not at all taken aback. "It's, well, comforting. But I always thought of you. I felt an emptiness that just couldn't be replaced, as if… you… were the one that had… passed."

"I felt the same way," he said, "I stayed cooped up in my house for days on end, I felt so alone without you." He paused.

"You complete me," they said in unison. They both blushed intensely. Tails was given a second chance at love, and he was not going to pass it.

"Cosmo, what I'm trying to say is that I… I…," She brought a finger to his lips.

"Say no more." Their faces were just inches apart. Their eyes closed as they closed the gap…

"YO LOVER BOY," Their eyes snapped open and they separated, blushing madly. The little poncle Iza was bouncing up to them.

_Dang it_, Tails thought. The duo turned their heads to find the glowing blue poncle was bouncing up and down in front of them.

"Am I interrupting something," he asked. It was a stupid question, he knew he was.

"No, of course not," Cosmo muttered.

"Good," he replied, turning his attention to Tails. "Mind if I borrow you girlfriend for a little bit?" They both blushed again

"Iza," Tails scolded. The little human smirked.

"I'll take that as a yes." He jumped on Cosmo's green hair. "C'mon, times a wastin'." He got off her head, and led her north. Cosmo turned around and waved Tails goodbye. The yellow fox made his back to Cream's house.

The two reached a section of the forest that had not been revitalized completely.

"Why did you want me," she asked. Iza gestured to toward the empty forest and cursed patches.

"You need practice with your new power. Wielding such a great force comes with great responsibility. You need to bloom all these trees and cleanse the forest." She eyed the woods. There were at least three dozen trees, and even more patches of cursed ground.

"This will take up the entire morning, and well into the afternoon," she whined. Iza chuckled in response.

"That's why you need practice. If you focus, you can cleanse the forest in one go." She nodded, closed her eyes, and cleared her thoughts. She began to gather as much power as she could. Cosmo's eyes snapped open and she raised her arms, unleashing a purifying light upon the forest. As it spread, the trees grew back their leaves, flowers began to bloom, cursed patches were eliminated, and the woodland creatures had returned. It was less spectacular than reviving the Guardian Sapling, but it was still breathtaking. Cosmo could not believe it; she could do all that and more?

"I think you missed one," Iza said with a hint of playfulness. Cosmo groaned in annoyance.

By the time they had finished, it was just after midnight. The forest was completely revitalized. Cosmo knocked on the door to Cream's house. Her mother answered it. Vanilla was surprised by her return, but made no mention of it.

"Where were you two," she inquired.

"Oh, just checking on the forest," Iza said.

"You had better not be stealing her," said Amy playfully, who was lying down on the couch. Iza rolled his eyes, but played along.

"I'm seventeen, she's eight. I'm short; she's tall. Where you got that from, only the Gods know." But then, as if from nowhere, they heard a flute. The group ran outside to find the source, who was standing atop an oak tree. The strange being wore golden and white armor with a golden mask of a strange design.

"So, you are the ones chosen by fate," he said, dispelling his flute of light. He jumped off his perch and landed softly on the ground.

"Who are you," Shadow growled. The being had simply smiled casually at his attitude before he gave the answer.

"I am Takanuva, Toa of Light."

Author's Notes- Go back to chapter 1's notes to see why Tahu has been replaced. I explain it all there. So I got this out early for you guys to make up for the two week delay in the last one. So yeah, I thought this was interesting, and it seems Tails was _so close_… but you gotta love Iza, otherwise this would be humorless. I'll also add what I think the songs should be for this. Note they are all from _Okami_ and _Okamiden_.

Cream's home and surrounding area- Yakushi village from Okamiden

Emerald lands/ the area they are currently in- Shinshu Plains from Okami

Takanuva- Ushiwaka's Appearance (I'm gonna get shot for that :p)


	7. Takanuva's Dance!

Chapter 7- Takanuva's Dance?

"I am Takanuva, Toa of Light," said the tall being. Takanuva wore a golden chest plate, shoulder pads and mask, while the rest of him was colored pure white. He sure _appeared_ to be light, but of course his statement raised an eons-unanswered question:

"What's a Toa," Sonic asked. Takanuva mentally slapped himself; he'd forgotten no one on the planet (except for Amaterasu) knew what or who Toa were.

"Call me a… warrior of sorts, _aoi hoggu_." Shadow was beginning to grow tired and irritated of his indirectness. He launched himself at top speed toward Takanuva, and threw a fist, trying to knock him into unconsciousness. However, the punch went right through him. Shadow landed on the ground behind the now ghastly image.

_What the… a HOLOGRAM?_ He turned to the left and saw the strange warrior a few feet away from him. He was chuckling. The others were dumbstruck, how was Takanuva faster? And how did that hologram appear?

"You've just witnessed two of my most useful abilities: enhanced speed and holographic capabilities," he said proudly, "Just by bending light here and there, I can create a hologram of myself. It's quite an effective trick." Shadow growled at him, but was wondering how he could beat the truth out of him. Iza, back on Tails' head, had viewed enough. He bounced off his perch, while the calm yellow eyes of Takanuva followed the movement, but made no move to counter.

"Oh really," Iza said with heavy sarcasm, "Then I bet you think you're pretty powerful, eh?" Takanuva smirked at him mockingly.

"Perhaps I do _tsu o hane_." Now it was Iza's turn to smirk.

"Hmmm… mixes foreign language in his speech … full and sure of himself… you wouldn't happen to know anyone named Waka, would you?" Takanuva retained his composure, but was _clearly _not expecting _that_ question.

"I did, a very, very long time ago," he muttered.

"You're a regular carbon copy of 'em," mumbled Iza under his breath, recalling the story passed down in his family, "Of course. No return of Orochi would be complete without some two-bit prophet following us." The light warrior laughed a little.

"I can assure you I'm no prophet," he said, "The future in nigh-unknown to me. But I think that's enough small talk." A spear of light energy formed in his hands. Once it occurred, everyone had their fists and weapons prepared. Takanuva disappeared and reappeared in front of them all, aiming his spear at them, ready to throw.

"Just after this bloody curse spread across these lands, I saw a strange cloaked figure flee from the Moon Cave, stronghold of that wretched demon. You wouldn't happen to know about that, _would you_?" There was heavy emphasis and sarcasm on the last two words, indicating he meant that one of them released the demon in question: Orochi. Now Sonic himself began to grow irritated at everyone accusing them of unleashing the dreaded demon.

"Why does everyone think we freed it," he vented. Everyone was surprised by his sudden anger, because that was the most difficult thing in the world to do: get Sonic angry.

"What's got you so worked up," Knuckles questioned.

"This guy, that's what," fumed Sonic. Knuckles smiled menacingly at Takanuva. Amy placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

"Congrats, you fruity moron, you got Sonic angry. That's the last thing you want to do," she said. Takanuva only chuckled, not at all fazed by this. Amy brought out her mallet, and glared at him with a fiery glint in her eyes.

"You'll never beat me with one angry speedy hedgehog!" Knuckles cracked his namesakes.

"Oh yeah? Well, what about another irritated and strong echidna," he growled.

"And another very ticked-off hedgehog who doesn't know any mercy," Shadow raged. Takanuva only chuckled more.

_Like this, they won't get anywhere._ He threw the spear of light, which landed right in front of Sonic. He backed up a few inches. The mighty Toa of Light crossed his arms.

"I witnessed the fight with those Imps. A rather sloppy attempt, I must say." A steel staff formed in his hands. "I'd be impressed if the four of you had a _slight chance_ of defeating me," he said triumphantly. Tails stepped forward, shooting the warrior an angered glare, while Iza jumped back on top of his head.

"Don't be so sure," growled the fox.

"Coming from a young fox who's too weak to do anything for himself," he stated matter-of-factly. "I saw the fight, and you were on the sidelines, just watching. Don't give me the "protect the girl" excuse." He pointed a finger in his direction.

"_You are weak_." His words echoed in Tails' mind, who began to shake with anger and even a little hurt.

Farther away, Amaterasu was listening and watching intently and angrily.

_What the hell is wrong with Takanuva, _she thought,_ this is not the same Toa of Light I remember! Why is he goading them?_

"I…am…not…" Tails namesakes rotated at their fastest and he flew at him, landing a kick squarely in the warrior's chest, while yelling out "_Weak_!" Takanuva was sent back a few feet, and Tails came at him again, attempting to smack at him with his twin tails. But Takanuva was far faster and stronger. He grabbed Tails by the leg and tossed him to the ground. Tails skidded across the grass, unconscious, and Cosmo was furious. Before Takanuva could do anything else, she used vines to wrap around his legs, restraining him. She expected him to use a beam of light to cut through the vines, but the warrior knew that would take too long. Instead he raised his hand and sent out a blinding flare, causing Cosmo to lose her control and the vines to recede. He had no reason to harm those who did not attack him, so that left the fox. But he sensed Amaterasu's presence nearby, and knew he was taking this a bit too far.

_One million years of life, and I still haven't learned a thing. _Shadow used his homing attack and spun right into Takanuva's back, causing him turn around and launch a beam of light in his direction. And it would've hit Shadow to, had it not been for Sonic spin-dashing into Takanuva's side._ So now they're serious. Let's go, then!_ He grabbed Sonic with a single hand and hurtled him at Shadow, who was strangely caught off guard. They collided with each other and both hit the ground dazed. Now Amy was very protective of Sonic: he meant the world to her. So when she saw someone hurt him when she was nearby, the reaction can be summed up in one phrase: all hell broke loose. The pink hedgehog advanced to him and her hammer collided with…

…his open hand. He quickly disarmed her with a gesture, and used an energy beam from his staff to cause the ground between them to explode. She was flung back several yards and landed on her back, but quickly returned to her feet. Sonic and Shadow were already out of their daze, and quickly used their signature homing attack on him, colliding with Takanuva's back. He landed on his hands and flipped himself back on his feet. Sonic and Shadow used a series of spin dashes and homing attacks on him, but now he fully alert, dodging and blocking all of them, while Knuckles attempted many times to land a powerful kick or a punch, but Takanuva was far more experienced, and blocked every single one, all the while managing to land a few blows with his staff, all of them quick and strong. Amy ran back to her mallet, picked it up and brought it down on Takanuva's head, but he used the same hologram trick and decisively slammed his fist into her spine, effectively knocking the breath out of her. Sonic moved quickly to prevent her from hitting the ground, something that was really dangerous in the middle of a battlefield.

_Sonic is… carrying…me…_ The fan girl in her was trying to take over, signified by her blushing madly, but she remembered how annoying that was.

"You saved me," she whispered, hugging him in thanks.

"Didn't I tell you I'd never leave you completely again," he chastised jokingly, softly putting her down in front of the house. He ran back into the thick of the fight. Cream, Vanilla, Cheese and Cosmo, who was sitting next to an unconscious Tails, watched the spectacle from afar.

"Do you think they can win," Cream asked worriedly.

"Don't worry dear, I'm positive they will," her mother reassured her. Cosmo knew that Vanilla was only trying to stop her from worrying, but in her honest opinion, they stood little chance against this Takanuva character. But she counted them lucky that he was not aiming to kill. Tails' eyes snapped open and he began to get back up. Cosmo gasped and quickly helped him to his feet.

"Are you okay," she asked. He shook his head and viewed the battle with Takanuva. He saw that Sonic Knuckles and Shadow were struggling, but Takanuva was effortlessly beating at them. Tails flew back into the thick of the fight, and unfortunately Cosmo was to slow to restrain him. Not that he would have stopped anyway. He used his namesakes and whacked the back of Takanuva's head with them, while Knuckles quickly punched him in the stomach, then Sonic and Shadow used the homing attack on him at the same time, causing the outnumbered warrior to fly into the air, but he did a backflip in midair and landed on his feet. His staff disappeared in sparkles of light.

Amaterasu watched the conclusion from afar, satisfied by their victory, while irritated at Takanuva for his sudden attack. She was going to have a little talk with him later…

"I find your teamwork to be," he paused for a moment, "commendable. But that is enough for the time being."

"Too late, fruity warrior," Iza said triumphantly while bouncing on Tails' head, "We have you now!" It seemed that way, because the four looked ready to strike one more time.

"Call this a test," Takanuva chimed, "of willpower, skill and strength. Most of you succeeded in all three aspects, while one of you screwed up the willpower portion." His eyes flicked to Tails as he said this. "Learn control, young fox. It goes a long way in life." Tails remembered how he went into a blind rage. He had never lost control like _that_. Why was he becoming more aggressive all of a sudden? He was left to ponder, while Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles visibly relaxed. Iza's hand collided with his forehead.

"Then you didn't have to go and attack us for no reason." Takanuva smiled.

"Call that boredom, then," he said, chuckling. "But I don't believe we properly introduced ourselves."

"You expect us to befriend you after that fiasco," Knuckles asked incredulously.

"Ah, well. I guess I'll have to do this the short, less interesting way." His mask quickly changed to a different one. He paused for a brief moment. "And now I know." His mask switched back to the previous one. Everyone was dumbstruck; he can read minds just by switching masks? "I suppose this is goodbye for now." He turned around and began to walk northeast. But then he quickly whirled back around.

"Ah! I almost forgot…" He pulled out a large, glowing purple gem: a Chaos Emerald. He casually tossed it to Shadow as if it were a piece of trash. "I have no use for it. Take it." The black and red hedgehog stared at the emerald and smiled.

"I guess I should thank you," he said, looking up at him.

"But you won't," Takanuva finished, "I don't expect it. But I will leave you with some handy information: a few hundred miles southwest from here is a nice little village under the threat of some giant arachnid. You might be interested in checking that out." With that, he (literally) beamed toward the northeast.

"Fruity weirdo," muttered Iza.

Takanuva reached Amaterasu's perch on a hill. She shot him an angry glare, but her mood softened a bit because she figured out what exactly he tried.

"What," he asked, knowing full well what he just pulled: what Amaterasu liked to call a "Waka". She did not feel like barking to get her point across this time, it just looked a little stupid to someone other than them. So, in a glow of light, she changed into her human form. As a wolf, her true form was a spectacle of nature, as a human, she appeared as a 5'11" tall and slender young woman, who had a stunning and radiant beauty that would put Sakuya to shame. She wore a white kimono with red patterns like the kind she had as a wolf on the shoulders and down the sleeves. She had the same kind of wrap that Sakuya has, except it was crimson instead of purple. The wrap was larger than Sakuya's because Amaterasu did not have the two leaves that covered the breast area, so it had to be little longer. Around her kimono she wore a thin white and red patterned sleeveless and hoodless cloak. Her hair was a pure, vibrant white like that of her wolf form's fur, and reached down just below her waist, and strands of it flowed over her arms. But for some odd reason she also still had her calligraphy brush-like tail (although she hid it under her kimono), while the crimson marks on her forehead as a wolf retained their position as a human, and her eyes were outlined with crimson markings with crimson lines below each eye. The sun goddess still had her divine instrument, positioned a few inches off her back. And using said instrument, the Solar Flare, she whacked Takanuva with it. She frowned at him.

"Idiot," she muttered. He shrugged in response.

"Remember how you told me to wait and see," he asked a bit sarcastically for the situation. Amaterasu gave no response. "Well I waited, I saw, and that was my reaction," he said with a casual smile. Amaterasu's once stern topaz eyes softened their gaze and she smiled affectionately.

"You're an idiot," she murmured, while playfully punching him in the chest. "But you're lucky you're a lovable idiot." She turned around and gazed out at the starry skies. "Was it wise to give them a Chaos Emerald," the goddess asked while gazing at the stars. "And just so you know, I kinda needed it."

"Yeah? Well, just so _you_ know, they need it more," he replied teasingly, "and besides, they're trustworthy, not mention strong, especially that Sonic fellow." The last part was quiet enough so Amaterasu could just_ barely_ make it out. She knew he liked to keep his pride on a high note, so she decided not to press him further. "Don't worry; they will keep it from Orochi. He'll never suspect them anyway." She visibly relaxed, knowing he made a good point.

"I guess I'll stay here then," she said.

"What do you mean, stay here? You've got a job to do," he chastised, but Amaterasu knew he was not serious. He knew before she arrived here the goddess spent a lot of time in Nippon and Kamui cleansing it of the curse and finishing off a large amount of lesser demons. She needed a little rest.

"Aw, why not," she feigned annoyance. Takanuva began to walk away.

"Alright, fine. I know you deserve it after two days of hard, grueling work purifying demon souls."

"That's right. Oh and Taka… I didn't get the chance to say this before, but…" she embraced him. Takanuva was taken by surprise, but he returned it.

"It's good to see you again," she whispered. When they broke, he said

"Likewise." He turned towards the east and shot off as a beam of light. Amaterasu lay down on the cool grass and tried to fall asleep underneath the beautiful starlit night sky …

Author's Notes- And this is where it goes to rated T. It was really fun to write, mostly the battle bit. They were a little OOC, but oh well, I made the plot. And I know Takanuva doesn't compare to Waka's beastliness, but I refuse to make a Moon Tribe OC, because it does not make a whole lot of sense to me. But if you had powers like him, you'd be pretty cocky too. And I let Ammy interchange between human and wolf forms, as cliché as it was. We'll being seeing her as a human plenty. And they are only close friends; I am NOT pairing them, because again, it makes no sense. Anyway here are the music choices, just two this time:

Takanuva being a jerk (starts when he accuses Sonic and his friends) - Confronting Ushiwaka

Battle with Takanuva (starts when he uses the blinding flare) - Ushiwaka's Dance (I'm gonna get shot like four times :p)

Quickly: _Tsu o hane _translates to bouncing one, and _Aoi hoggu _to blue hedgehog. Both are Japanese, but are very rough translations.


	8. Chibiterasu's Arrival

Chapter 8- Chibiterasu's Arrival

Shadow eyed his Chaos Emerald with content. Perhaps Takanuva was not as foolish as he originally thought… But now that he had an emerald, he could induce Chaos Control with ease, which was useful against the demons of the world.

Meanwhile, Sonic was pondering on the warrior's little bit of information. Was it reliable? Was it a trap? And furthermore, how did he acquire a Chaos Emerald, be it real or fake? Better yet, who was he really? He claimed he was a Toa, apparently some sort of warrior, but where did he come from? Another world? Another galaxy, even? There were at the very least a hundred more questions burning in his mind, but he had no way of answering them. For now, they had to at least trust him for the time being.

_And get some sleep,_ he thought, _it's been a_ long_ day._

"What are we waiting for," Knuckles said impatiently.

"Morning," Sonic said with a yawn and a stretch. Shadow shot him a fiery glare.

"_Morning?_ We don't have that kind of leisure time anymore," he snarled. Sonic grinned irritatingly at him.

"Even you have to admit, you're tired."

"The ultimate life-form has no need for-"

"Would you shut up already," moaned Iza, "us normal, _sane_ people need rest, unlike you and your oversized ego." It took all of the black hedgehog's will to not grab Iza and crush him. But he was not about to rest. Not now…

"Fine. I'll go on my own then." He began to glide towards the southwest, but of course, Sonic grabbed him by the arm.

"Whoa, there, cowboy," he said mockingly, "I thought we already agreed that we'd stick together."

"You're all a bunch of no good slackers," Shadow snapped, "I will deal with this supposed arachnid with or without you." Sonic was about to say something to stop him, but then something unexpected happened.

"Let him go." The words were surprisingly from Iza. While everyone looked at him in shock, Shadow took the moment to slip away.

"Great, he got away now. Why'd you say that," Knuckles chided.

"If he thinks he's strong enough, so be it. He's going to come back here a bloody pulp or he'll have no clue how to get to the thing. Then he'll realize he needs us." They all decided to let the issue go, resulting in a few hours of peace in Iza's eyes.

Dawn was breaking, and Amaterasu was still nimbly resting upon the hill, her dreams pleasant, all of them memories from before the destruction of Kamiki and Sei-an city. And oh, how she _missed_ those cherry cakes…

_Oh well_, she thought with a yawn, _Can't dwell on the past._ She switched back to her wolf form and left for the south. Or at least, she was before she was stopped by a large, strangely clothed man inside some sort of machine. The goddess could not help but giggle in her mind. _It's like Yami, just demented_.

"Hello, wolfie. I am Doctor Eggman, and I could not help but notice you transformed from a human into a wolf." He had a greedy glare in his eyes. Two large claws came forth from the sides of the hovercraft. "So, you're coming with me. I have suspicions about this strange plague also, and you may hold some answers." Amaterasu growled at him, attempting to scare him off, but it did not work. The claws closed in, but she jumped out of the way.

_Arrogant moron_. She contemplated her plan of action. This was a human, but all humans were extinct. And he was also a threat to her. There was not much of an option; she had to retaliate with physical force. The Sun Goddess swung her divine instrument at a claw, effectively slicing it off, while bringing up her Celestial Canvas and using power slash to cleave through the other. Eggman was shocked. This was just a white wolf, no more, no less. And it didn't even touch one of the claw arms. Amaterasu herself counted her lucky stars because this one could not see her true form.

_Perhaps I underestimated this one,_ Eggman thought. Six missiles launched from his craft, but the wolf used her brush technique power slash and deflected all of them back at their source. He quickly flew out of the way of them, but Amaterasu drew a cherry bomb inside his cockpit. Eggman tried frantically to get the bomb out, but it exploded on contact. His craft fell to the ground with a clank, and he rolled out of it like a ball, dazed and covered in soot. Amaterasu took that chance and dashed off towards the southwest, while the mad genius was left there out cold.

Sonic and his friends were already up and ready to go. But there was one problem…

"Where's the X-Tornado?" Tails knew that was one hell of a question. In the months after Cosmo died, he had let the thing fall into disrepair, along with the Blue Typhoon.

"Um, well," he started, but of course Knuckles finished his sentence. He slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"It's broken, isn't it," he said irritably.

"Unfortunately, it is," Tails said lowly, knowing he really screwed up this time. He bowed his head and sighed inwardly. Sonic patted him on the back.

"I'm sure you can fix it, right Tails," he said with encouragement. Tails expression visibly brightened.

"No time like the present," he said while flying into the air towards his workshop. Iza had listened to the conversation with relative interest but could not figure out what they were talking about.

"What exactly is an 'X-Tornado'," he asked.

"It's a jet plane," Tails replied plaintively. Iza was confused.

"What is a jet plane?" Tails halted in midair, and stared at the poncle as if he had just grown a second head.

"You don't know what a _jet plane_ is," Tails asked incredulously. The poncle shook his head.

"As I said, I'm not from around here. My grandfather, who also happens to be my village elder, usually keeps us confined to our village, for the fear of getting crushed to death by other, larger, predators. I left 'cause I found that reason ridiculous." There was a pause in his words. Tails sensed some contempt emanating from his little backstory.

_That's probably not the only reason…_ But Tails wisely decided to leave the issue. Iza lay down on his head and covered his face with his helmet, attempting to block out the exceedingly bright sun…

Takanuva found himself in the middle of Shinshu fields. Admittedly it took far longer than expected to arrive here, namely because he had lost his way. But more importantly, he was here for Harami Lake. More specifically…

… the Moon Cave, stronghold of the dreaded demon Orochi.

The Toa of Light still remembered the first time he learned about Orochi. It was a long time ago, before he met the Goddess Amaterasu. It was when Orochi terrorized his home world shortly after the defeat of _him_… who was not as dead as they would have liked to think. But Takanuva did not want to dwell on such an age-old revelation. But after he met up with the goddess, hope _did_ spring in him… hope against the never-ending darkness.

The Toa's musings, however, were shortly interrupted by a small, white furred form tackling him to the ground, back-first. The warrior opened his eyes to find a miniature Amaterasu staring back at him happily, tail wagging in familiarity. This was none other than the Child of the Sun, Chibiterasu.

"_Hello, Taky,_" he greeted warmly. The wolf pup quickly jumped off him, while he tried to remember why Chibi still used his pet name. But more importantly-

_It's been 500,000 years, _he thought, _and Chibi's still a cub? _The Toa kneeled down to try and be on eye-level with the young god.

"Two questions," he began, "One: What are you doing here, and two: Did your mother say you could be down here?" Chibiterasu wagged his tail innocently.

"_To see you, and no, she didn't_." Takanuva slapped his own forehead in embarrassment.

"Chibi, you should know by now you can't fool me. Just say you want to help. It makes life easier for the lot of us." The wolf in question frowned.

"_I know I'll be of use! I practiced with the brush; I have a better reflector-"_The Toa simply lifted him off the ground.

"Perhaps, but let's go ask permission from your mother, okay?" The wolf cub groaned in his mind. He was never let off the hook easily.

Amaterasu herself was still running in the distance when a familiar voice interrupted her.

"You're an indescribably beautiful Sun Goddess with powers beyond belief, yet the_ one_ thing you can't keep track of is your _son_…" After letting her blush leave her, she turned around to find that Takanuva was holding Chibiterasu in his arms.

"_How ironic_," she said jokingly, while taking her son out of his hands. She turned her attention to Chibi, who was rolling around on the ground playfully.

"_Hiya_, _mama_," he said innocently.

"_Didn't I tell you to stay on the Plain_," she replied sternly. Chibi used the well-honed puppy-dog eyes to add to the effect of his explanation.

"_But mooom, Taky is here, and I wanted to say hi!"_

"You know, they say the definition of insanity is to try the same thing continuously and expect a different result." The celestial wolf cub shot Takanuva and annoyed glare.

"_Okay, so I wanted to help out to! Is there something wrong with that?"_

"_No, Chibi, it's just that-"_

"How bad could it possibly be?" The words were surprisingly from Takanuva.

"_Oh, so,_ now_ you take my side_," Chibi groaned. The warrior shrugged in response, and gestured to Amaterasu as if to say "It's your call". The Goddess sighed.

"_Okay, fine. Just… be careful, got it,"_ she said finally. Chibi blinked at her words.

"_Wait, you don't mean…"_ His mother nodded approvingly. Chibi ran up and gripped her in a death-hug.

"_I swear I won't mess up!_" He began to run off, but Takanuva quickly stopped him.

"Do you even know where to go?" Chibi skidded to a halt and groaned, while Takanuva chuckled.

The duo finally made it to Tails' workshop. Iza however was confused as all hell.

"I'm sure a plane is a rather large craft, but the house is rather small." Tails winked.

"You'll see. I just have to go down these flights of stairs." Once they did, they encountered a massive, open but perpetually dark room. Iza could barely see a centimeter in front of him. Tails quickly flipped a switch, and the room went exceedingly bright. Iza covered his eyes for a brief moment to get used to the extreme light. One they did, he was staring down at a massive (for his size) craft with wings. Iza's jaw dropped, while Tails smirked. "Just wait here. I'll be done in no time."

"I'll help. I can lift things far past my own weight."

"Okay, hotshot. Let's get to work!"

Sonic and the others were still waiting patiently for the plane to get here. It was a peaceful, serene afternoon, and probably the last they will get for a while…

…that is, until a rather large missile tore through the air at them. Sonic quickly homed in on it, effectively deflecting to the ground directly below. A familiar craft hurtled into him, sending him flying through the wall of the house, disoriented. A rather familiar face came upon them, hovering in front of them inside his craft.

"Eggman," Knuckles called, "What is the meaning of this." The psychopathic doctor looked furious.

"There is no meaning," he said with force in each word. "JUST SUFFER!" Sonic immediately got out of his daze.

_He's completely lost it this time._ Sonic quickly leaped high into the air and dived into the cockpit, trying to knock him out of it. The doctor dove out of the way and activated a claw arm, grabbing the hero and sent him diving into Knuckles. They both collided with each other, and Eggman launched another missile, this time for a killing blow. Amy quickly knocked out of the way with her mallet.

_I thought Eggman was against killing! What's gotten into him?_ But the question would not be answered. The madman launched a volley of missiles, threatening to destroy them all. There were too many to be deflected.

But in a fraction of an instant, all of them were sent right back at their maker. While the others were left to wonder what had saved them, Robotnik immediately knew. A small wolf pup quickly engaged him inside his cockpit, slashing at him with all its might. Although Eggman could feel the blows, he could not see what the pup was striking with. Finally, a series of powerful wind gusts sent him hurtling back, followed by a distant sword slash, splitting his craft in two.

_Damn it_, he cursed, _it's beyond repair now!_ The pup finally followed with a bomb, sending the doctor flying into the air. The wolf turned around, its coat gleaming white. The group's expressions were priceless. Chibi would've started laughing if he could. Once they shook themselves from their shock, they all ran up to him. He simply sat there.

"Well… I guess a puppy saved us this time," Knuckles said, thoroughly impressed.

"I wonder where he came from," wondered Sonic while eyeing the mysterious cub. Cream was immediately smitten with him. Cream petted the small cub, while Cheese decided to poke him to see if anything else strange might happen.

"I think he's cute," she said while scratching behind his ear. He licked her face, causing her to giggle.

"What makes you so sure it's a 'he'," jibed Amy. Cream simply shrugged.

"I just know."

"Regardless, if we're gonna keep him," Sonic said, "He needs a name."

"Keep him? Are you thinking of having a pet, Sonic," asked Amy. But he ignored the question.

"What do you think the name should be, Cream?" He asked her because she was the youngest.

"Hmm," she mused. "Aha! We should call him Snowy!" The pup gained a shocked expression and bowed his head in embarrassment.

Author's Notes- Surprise, surprise. How many of you didn't see that coming? Yes Chibi's here, and I personally think he's awesome, and just better suited than Amaterasu to travel with them (we'll be seeing plenty of her though). And Eggman's little one-sided battle with Ammy knocked a few screws loose perhaps? As for Snowy, I was thinking of names, and I felt it would be nostalgic to have Chibi named Snowy, like Kushi did with Ammy. As for the 'him' Takanuva mentioned… that should be fairly obvious to those who have either A) been on my profile or B) read Trials of a Legend.

Also, please review. I'm getting a ton of hits and views on this, which is nice, but I would like to get more reviews from more people, it really helps if you provide some advice.


	9. The Dark God

Chapter 9- The Dark God

Takanuva had long left Chibiterasu to his new adventure and Amaterasu to her own. He found it odd the Great Goddess let her son go on his own when she could easily help him… but she had her reasons. Alas, that was not a major concern.

_Orochi threatened her with the wrath of the Dark God… I swear by the Great Beings and the Great Spirit himself I will_ mutilate _him!_ Yes, the dreaded demon has a "superior officer", the Dark God of Death and Destruction. But still, the Toa of Light had to figure out his involvement… because there is no way in hell that he was not. The Dark God was behind everything this past eon… and he had to be involved with this…

_**Foolish Takanuva… you are only half right.**_ The Toa whirled around to find… nothing. Where was the voice coming from?

_**Little Toa… have you forgotten that I am Master of Reality in its entirety? I am everywhere… I am everything… no matter which universe you escape to… you will never escape **_**me.** His eyes narrowed as the sky overhead was covered in darkness… a reddish-black thick haze that spewed red lightning every second. Takanuva had seen this too many times before… it was the sign of a creature who was the true origin of all evil throughout all realities … it was the herald of

_The Makuta!_ The Dark Spirit laughed maniacally, a chilling, disturbing sound. His deep, grating and malicious voice echoed throughout the country of Nippon. _How do you maintain influence in the _one _galaxy outside your shadows? _He heard a rumble, meaning the Master of Shadows was in deep thought.

_**How… enterprising of the Great Beings… such an **_**interesting **_**failsafe… perhaps I underestimated their abilities..?**_ He paused for a brief moment, the shadow storm calming for a minute, until a bolt of lightning hit Takanuva, but did not kill him. The Toa of Light did not know whether it was mercy or torture on his enemy's part. He collapsed to the ground and groaned in pain. Makuta did not bother to acknowledge the deliberate strike.

"Why..." Those were the only words Takanuva could breathe before he lost consciousness, but also saw Amaterasu dashing as quickly as she could to his side. She switched to her human form and placed a hand on his back, sending purifying light throughout his body. For if she did not, the darkness inside would consume his atoms and erase the fact that he ever existed… literally. The Dark God paid no mind to it, lost in his musings.

_**To think that one miniscule speck of light remains outside of my rule… I feel I must commend the Great Beings for such a… unconventional method of protecting their galaxy. A spell of light, how amusing. It is unfortunate that they will never see the small fruit their plan bore.**_ Amaterasu looked up at the sky with furious eyes.

"What do you want, Dark God," she growled. It seemed he finally took notice of the two.

_**Ah, Amaterasu… it has been some time, has it not?**_ His tone was dark and sarcastic. Although she denied any fear of him, what she had to admit was that his voice still sent chills down her spine.

"Spare me the sarcasm, and get to the point! Why have you appeared?" Using the question distraction, she quickly drew a circle in the shadowy skies. The sun tried to burn through the darkness, but a four-fingered hand crafted of pure shadow seemed to envelope and crush it to powder. Amaterasu staggered in great pain. It felt like a knife had been but through her chest and was being twisted very slowly. Her only wish at that moment was for death to claim her.

_**No, I cannot allow that, as you well know, foolish goddess. I still have use for you… death is such a waste of potential. Besides, it is quite entertaining to torture you, because no matter what you try, you can never truly escape me… and no matter what you do, you will always be a failure.**_ The Sun Goddess froze.

"What… do you mean by that," she breathed slowly. There was another rumble, followed by a slight chuckle.

_**Do not tell me that such past mistakes are so easily forgotten? I speak of your choices over this past 500,000 years… and one of them resulted in the deaths of your subjects at the fangs of my servant, Orochi. You are no better than I, Amaterasu.**_ She immediately turned aggravated by such a callous statement.

"What the hell are you talking about," she fumed, "You exterminated countless races! You've destroyed whole universes just for your own amusement! You even orchestrated the deaths of your own minions! Yami was no exception." Now, all she heard was his dark, echoing laughter that seemed to be the equivalent of a strong earthquake.

_**The Emperor of Eternal Darkness had already served his purpose after you vanquished him, which was killing your Celestials and drawing you from the Celestial Plain for a prolonged period of time, so that I could take hold of one of the eight keys to ruling all realities. Your foolishness at the time was even **_**pitiable.**_** You helped my reign come to pass, whether you realized it or not. And you cannot alter that**_. She bowed her head, aware that she was tricked by him, remembering his announcement to the universe after his takeover… but also remembering the lengths the Great Beings had gone to protect the one galaxy that may hold a chance of finally defeating him, remembering the humans that had stood against him despite all odds, remembering the stories Takanuva had told her… not of heroes who defied his will, but of the normal people who stood their ground… without the aid of the Toa. She could not give in to despair now…

"Makuta," she said darkly, "You may be Master of the Multiverse… you may have endless armies, and you may be the most powerful creature that will ever exist…" She looked up at the sky with determination. "But what you don't have is people that will truly back you up… you don't have friends like I do, like Takanuva… like your brother. That is where the real power lies. You'll never win, and somehow… I will find a way to destroy you!" He gave one last chuckle before seemingly commanding the darkness overhead to disperse, revealing the sunset.

_**You cannot destroy me, for you must remember… I am nothing. It is out of nothing you came, and it will be into nothing you shall go. The only one who ever had an inkling of a chance was Mata Nui, but now he is doomed to wander in between dimensions for all of eternity, and my regime **_**shall**_** last for all of time.**_ Amaterasu no longer felt his presence, and attended to Takanuva, who was still out cold. She herself was left to wonder just what it would take to end his reign of shadows… Makuta… his name had no meaning, for he _was_ nothing. His spirit was simply the blackness of the void. The stakes have just quadrupled now. The Makuta, the monster that had pulled the strings behind everything- the Moon Tribe, the Celestial Plain, Yami, Orochi and so much more, had appeared. Things had gone from worse to hopeless in a matter of seconds.

Chibiterasu grimaced, sensing a dark intelligence, but the Child of the Sun quickly shrugged it off before his new friends noticed. They seemed to be discussing the strange man that attacked them, someone named Tails and another guy named Shadow. Except for that strange blue thing… he was still poking him with a blunt stake. Chibi let out a low growl as warning, but it was not really intimidating.

_Why do I have to be a puppy? _He felt a powerful gust rush past him, along with a loud sound, like a sonic boom. A strange craft landed in the middle of the fields, and from it came a strange two tailed yellow fox and a glowing bug on his head. Chibi recognized the bug as the Celestial Envoy Issun, but realized that it was wishful thinking and it could not be him.

Tails ran up to his friends and greeted them with a wave.

"Is everything good to go," asked Sonic. Tails gave him a thumbs-up.

"That and more. It can— " He stopped short when he saw three things: small craters everywhere, the fact that Shadow was gone and a young white wolf. He was nothing less than utterly puzzled.

"Uhhh," he started, while looking around, "What happened while I was fixing the X-Tornado?" Sonic shrugged nonchalantly.

"Old Egghead decided to attack for no particular reason, but this here wolfie—"

"Snowy," Cream quickly interjected.

"…Snowy saved us from him. Eggman went on some rampage! I think he knocked his head around while trying to build something." Tails looked to the others.

"And you don't seem surprised by this?"

"Tails, we've seen even more insane things than that. Not a whole lot should surprise us by now." Tails kneeled down to get a closer look at the wolf pup. He could very, very faintly see markings around its eyes and head, but the fox quickly rejected that notion. Iza could see the markings quite clearly, the markings of the gods. He said something in a tongue unknown to his friends.

"_Anata no haha megami ten Amaterasu?_" The wolf barked in response. It seemed like a yes.

"What did you ask him," Tails inquired. Iza shrugged.

"Nothin' important." Tails decided not to press him any further and turned his attention back to Sonic.

"Okay, so we have a problem: where are we going to sit… er...Snowy?" Sonic scratched the back of his head.

"Isn't there enough room," he asked. Tails shook his head.

"Unless another one of us wants to be on the other wing, then no." Knuckles raised a hand.

"Then I guess I'll be on the other wing." Tails turned his back to him and walked towards to the X-Tornado.

"Just make sure you don't punch holes in it," he jibed.

A green Imp watched them from afar, and through it, Orochi could see what was occurring easily. So the Child of the Sun has decided to lend a helping hand..? Is his mother a coward, or does she have something else planned? Either way, the situation had changed. Now he had to deal with two of them, not to mention that pesky Toa of Light. Plus, there were still six Chaos Emeralds out there. And because he did not have even _one_, and those bleeding animals did, that only made him more frustrated and impatient to find one. He could very well remember the chilling reminder his Dark Master had given him just before he appeared to Takanuva and Amaterasu:

_**Do not forget your task. You must take hold of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and curse these lands.**_

Sure, it sounded simple, but nothing was ever easy with Amaterasu involved…

"Are we ready for takeoff?" Tails was at the controls, while Amy, Cream, Cosmo and Snowy were seated in the passenger seats. Sonic and Knuckles rested on the wings, and the blue blur gave the fox a thumbs-up. He nodded and readied the plane.

"3… 2… 1…" The jet started across the greenery of the field before finally lifting off the ground and into the air, their destination- Shadow. Tails had installed a tracker of sorts that could read Chaos Emerald energy signals to specific life readings. It would not be difficult finding Shadow and his Chaos Emerald. As a matter of fact, they would reach where he was any second now.

"Guys, look down there," Amy exclaimed. They all did so, each gasping in turn. A large area was covered in darkness, a sign that the place was cursed. And coincidentally, this is where Shadow was supposed to be. Tails brought the X-Tornado to landing a while away from the cursed zone. All the while, a single though ran across their minds-

_What could've happened? _Cosmo herself was hoping there was a Guardian Sapling nearby. Once they reached the darkened area, Shadow was waiting for them.

"Took you long enough," he muttered in irritation.

"We had some trouble with Eggman," Sonic replied quickly.

"You aren't gonna ask about-" Tails began, but he was immediately cut off.

"The wolf cub? No." Tails was thankful of that, because that would take a long time to explain. "There's a Guardian Sapling near here. We have to…" He was interrupted by a shriek behind him. While the others were fully prepared, he turned around to find four green Imps and a single red-colored Imp, holding a sitar instead of a flute. The Imps leaped at them with ferocity. They were horribly out-powered…

Author's Notes- Makuta, my all- time favorite character, has made his debut! Really, no story of mine won't be without him in some form or fashion, so just expect him to make an appearance eventually. He's only going to make sporadic appearances though. And I'm not going to explain what he said until another story I will start after school starts. It will be updated very frequently at the cost of the chapters being short, because this one won't be as frequently updated during that time. And Iza asked Chibi "Is you mother goddess Amaterasu?" Just one music choice this time:

Makuta's Appearance- Curse (Okami OST)


End file.
